There are abundant species of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resources in China.For a long time,the Chinese medicine materials have been collected and harvested from the wild.At present,wild TCM resources are far from meeting the demand of modern development of TCM.There are few excellent varieties,small planting area and low yield of artificially cultivated medicinal plants,and a variety of common medicinal materials are in shortage.Therefore,scientific breeding method is urgently needed to improve the yield and quality of medicinal plants.Space mutation breeding has the characteristics of high efficiency,large variation range and short breeding cycle,which is an effective way to obtain new germplasm resources.The mutagenic effects of space environment on plants are mainly manifested in the combined effects of space microgravity,radiation,and the combined effects of space environmental factors that affect plant cell division,chromosome structure,DNA damage and repair,etc.,causing plants to mutate.At present,the research on the mechanism of space mutagenesis of medicinal herbs mainly focuses on the influence of space environment on the growth and development,physiology and biochemistry,cell structure,molecular level and content of active ingredients of medicinal plants.Some new varieties of Salvia miltiorrhiza,Ganoderma lucidum,coix lacryma and other medicinal herbs have been bred by space mutation breeding technology.These new varieties have excellent advantages in yield and quality.With the development of space technology,using the special space environment to promote the synthesis and accumulation of effective components of medicinal plants,and to product active ingredients will become an important direction for the future development of space mutation breeding of TCM resources. |